As you can imagine, the topic of whether or not to bring Keira on this trip was lengthy and took place over many years. I kept score of all the things I did for Jim to win the battle while he prohibited me from obtaining a 2nd permanent dog when he realized there was no way he was getting out of this trip without a four-legged creature. (before you get your pants in a bunch, the alternative was to give her to a friend for the duration)
Editor's note: Jim actually loves Keira and only pretended he didn't want to deal with a dog to keep me
from sneaking one of the 800 pit bulls I fostered from work into our life.
So your first task in determining whether or not to bring your furry friend is to decide if you think he/she will be "happy" with the new lifestyle. If you have a spoiled dachshund who pukes from stress if you get up even an hour later than normal, this may not be the best move. Or a senior dog who really just wants to sleep near the fireplace, spare him the turmoil. (although I once read a story about a family who brought their dying dog on a long road trip as a way to give her some peace from her cancer - *tear*)
Keira = stomach of steel. Literally she has eaten everything there is to eat in the woods and gulped dozens of gallons of giarrdia filled river water and not gotten sick. She also learned my #1 lesson for dogs and cats many years ago. Don't wake Lindsay up. It doesn't matter if it's four hours past breakfast, you wait until I wake up to eat. (I know, I'm soooo mean.) But it helps animals learn to deal with change, I swear.
The second piece is fairly straight-forward. Does your dog do well in the car? If your version of a nice family vacation is having your Great Dane hurl breakfast on the back of your head while you stare at beautiful scenery, then disregard this piece of advice. Keira not only does well in the car, it's actually a safe place for her.
Thirdly, your dog probably shouldn't try to eat all the new people who want to squish her face or the new dogs who may or may not sniff her butt first. Keira scores an A+ on the people part (she doesn't even growl when she soooo deserves to) but about a B- on the dogs. She used to be a C or D on the dog part but we've done our homework and worked with great trainers and she's showing the world what she's really like now.
Fourth(ly?), she should be quiet so you can leave said dog alone in said camper from time to time without disturbing the world. Keira scores a big fat F on this one. She's an "alarm barker". Aka a fancy term in the behavior world which means "your dog scares the absolute shit out of you at the most random times because she thought a squirrel looked at her".
Two words: Citronella Collar. I can't believe I haven't used it on her before. I've used it on shelter dogs. I know it works. But sometimes you have to run face first into the telephone pole to put two and two together. It's a collar that emits a spray of citronella (citrus smell) when they bark. The point is to disrupt the behavior and to avoid having it come from you (because if you come up with a way to get a dog to stop barking when you're around, it won't work when you're not). Oh, the lives this thing can save. The number of shelter dogs who die every day because they bark too much. Or the number of dogs relinquished because they're too loud in their apartments. Shelters - buy them, use them, give them to adopters. They are humane and lifesaving.
Fifth, your pup should do well on a leash because the world wants them on one ALL THE TIME. Again, Keira scores about a C on this one. And it's not her fault. We gave her a blissful off-leash life before this and she doesn't get it. We've been working with the gentle leader which works for a bit but requires way too much attention from me to work properly. (it is a good piece of equipment and works wonders for most dogs, just not Keira)
Lastly, are YOU ready to travel with your dog? Can you watch her ingest an entire chipmunk or watch her eat her own diarrhea and then vomit it up again? (this actually happened last month) Pick off ticks and put canned pumpkin on your regular shopping list?
Now tabulate your results. Does Fluffy or Princess fit the bill? And if not, how far off the mark is she and can you deal with the symptoms? I can deal with Keira's issues on the leash - it's called having a line in the budget for "fines". "I didn't see the leash sign officer".
Because if she does, you're about to embark on an extraordinary adventure where you sleep, breathe and poop together 24/7. What a wonderful life.
"The little furry buggers are just deep, deep wells you throw all your emotions into."
Bruce Schimmel
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